Consumer panel fines car dealer Rs 2 lakh for selling vehicle without UT approval

The Forum has also directed the dealership to pay Rs 75,000 to the Sector 15-based couple who bought the car but could not get it registered,and Rs 7,000 as cost of litigation.

In their complaint filed in the Forum,Bhupinder and Ritika Thakur stated that in May 2010,they purchased a Grand Punto (DI Active BS IV model of Fiat India and Tata Motors) from a leading car dealership of Chandigarh,who allotted them a temporary registration number valid for a month. The dealership also gave them relevant documents such as sale certificate,retail invoice,insurance cover note and Form 22. The car was required to be registered by June 20.

The couple completed all formalities and submitted the papers to the UT Registering Authority for allotment of a registration number. After inspection of the vehicle,the Registration Authority returned the file,stating that the model in question had not been approved by STA. Despite repeated visits to the dealership and the registering authority,the needful could not be done. As a result,the couple had to run from pillar to post and suffer much harassment,while the car remained parked at home.

The couple stated in their complaint that the sale of the car without proper approval from the concerned authority amounted to unfair trade practice on part of the dealer. In his reply,the dealer stated that the stand taken by the UT Registration Authority was wrong,as the manufacturers had applied to STA for approval for the sale of the model.

After studying the documents,the Forum observed that the approval was given by STA in December 2010,while the car had been sold to the couple in May. The Forum stated that as a result,the couple could not use the car and were put to much harassment. In this light,the Forum penalised the dealership for the “unfair trade practice” and also ordered it to compensate the couple for the harassment faced by them.